a. Dinner @ Loren’s—April 14 @ 5:30: We will have a fairly formal dinner at Loren’s house next Wednesday. There is a sign-up sheet going around for this. Depending on what is on the agenda for next week, we may or may not have an SGA meeting that night.

b. April 27 Late Night Breakfast sign-ups: The SGA is hosting a Late Night Breakfast from 10-11 p.m. on the Tuesday of finals week. A sign-up sheet went around for senators to sign-up for time slots.

c. IRB Report—Sarah: Sarah shared that the IRB had its final meeting of the year this afternoon. The main order of business was to plan for the transition in leadership next year as there will be a new chair, Toni Flanagan. The committee also discussed re-designing the submission process for research proposals and also honing the “track” system of how proposals are reviewed (whether just the chair can review it and approve or if the proposal needs a full committee review).

V. Old Business

a. “Green on the Go” Program: The caf/den are trying out a new program to reduce the amount of Styrofoam containers used primarily by the Den. This program allows students to pay $5 and get a “kit” to use for take-out options in both the caf and the Den. Students can then bring back the container and exchange the used one for a clean one the next time they take out food. At the end of the year, students will get their $5 back if they return the kit at the end of the year. Senators generally thought this was a good idea, but wondered about student involvement this late in the year. This may be more effective if it was started at the beginning of the 2010-11 school year. Another worry was the $5 cost upfront; perhaps more students would be willing to participate if it could be charged to the student account so cash wouldn’t be needed. We’d like a little more information about how students would need to pay for this. Ultimately, we as an SGA feel this is a cause worth supporting!

VI. New Business

a. Review of Sexual Assault procedure/policy: Michael shared that there was an incident a few years ago involving sexual assault on EMU’s campus that he was just informed of. The alleged assailant is still involved on campus and the victim is questioning his/her security. Michael feels that we as an SGA should review EMU’s procedure/policy which has not been reviewed since 2002; we feel this is an appropriate response to the situation. Ken shared that it’s very important to have feedback on the protocols in place for incidents like this to make sure appropriate policies are in place. Currently, the policy allows for victims to anonymously identify that a sexual assault has taken place. This protects the victim’s identity which is important since this is such a sensitive topic. The incident is reported by filling out a Sexual Assault Incident Form. The only name on this form is the name of the person reporting the incident, who may or may not be the victim. Once the assault has been reported, the incident can be reported to Student Life (where confrontation with the alleged perpetrator may take place) and support will be provided to the victim if they would like to go to the police. This particular policy we’re reviewing differentiates on-campus/off-campus incidents and is used mostly as a tracking procedure to keep records of incidents. One question brought up was the use of the word “survivor” rather than “victim” in the policy. The explanation given was that often “survivor” is more empowering than “victim” and does not have such a negative connotation. The two words are used interchangeably, and this may be something to look at if we would like to be more consistent. The incident report is kept by the Vice-President of Student Life in a locked drawer and a copy is also given to the head of security at EMU. Ken shared that the victim has certain rights about whether or not to press charges and Student Life will support either or both of these options. Student Life can also arrange for the victim to receive appropriate counseling and/or go to the emergency room to receive a “rape kit” and get checked out. After reviewing the policy, a few minor wording changes were suggested to make the policy more clear and all-encompassing. There was also a suggestion to separate the suggestions for how to avoid being assaulted and also how to avoid becoming the perpetrator. It may also be helpful to have protocol for different people on campus to deal with incidents that are reported to them, such as campus pastors and/or athletic trainers or coaches.

VII. Open Floor

–Hans shared that he and Katie will be meeting with CAC over lunch next week to discuss the budget allocated to them next year and SGA’s expectations for what CAC will do with that allocation.

-Brent shared that there were no budget appeals, so the budget is approved! J

-Ken shared that there will be an EMU Wellness Fair to raise money and awareness about the situation in Haiti. There will be many activities involved such as running and biking and it takes place on Friday, April 9.